Mains extension blocks

Thanks Loki, I’ll have a purge on anti surge, I may even make an extension block myself for the av stuff but was thinking of a hydra for the hifi.

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I too have an urge to merge with Speedtrip and purge the scourge of anti surge.

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Nigel, do I detect the beginning of a poem or song lyric here…?

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Just practicing my alliteration. :grinning:

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Hi Nigel, the fittings I’m talking about are the ‘filament’ type LED replacements for traditional light bulbs with bayonet or screw fittings. Like this:


I bought them from an online retailer called everythingLED and the brand that passed the S-in-S quietness test was Sylvania. Integral were also quiet. I tried a Tesco own-brand one, and when I pointed the radio at it, it sounded like the Battle of Britain had started up again.
I’m not a big fan of those recessed downlighters that people seem to have plastered all over their ceilings, which is just as well, as I have yet to find one that wasn’t noisy.
Hope that helps,
Chris

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I wondered if anyone would go for that… :smiley:

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I had a quick browse of the internet and these filament types seem to be the best due to their driver types. Even some of the big brands that are relatively expensive like Philips can cause rfi above limits with these downlight type lamps. The Chinese knock offs found on the bay and the river seem to be the worst culprits. If anyone else has other experience…an interesting topic.

I use a Heretic Audio Copper Star, which seems to work well.

Thanks Chris.

I have some GU10 downlights in the kitchen, and tried Phillips LEDs in them, but they were noisy as hell.

I’ve got LED’s all over the house. It includes seven down-light GU10’s from SimplyLED in the lounge/listening room on a dimmer switch made by Varilight that was also supplied by SimplyLED. I can pick up some noise on the S-i-S test but its not bad & has no hint of any effects on any of the Naim.

Thanks Mike, there are only 3 downlights above our kitchen worktop, and they get switched off when we’re not cooking, so I can live with a few rogue fittings here and there. As mentioned above, I haven’t got the patience to try and trace any of this noise and see if any one bulb audibly affects the HiFi. With dozens of individual bulbs, wall warts, chargers etc. all over the house, life’s too short. It didn’t cost anything to track down some quiet bulbs, though, and many of them replaced CFLs, all of which were noisy.

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Another interesting product is Project’s Audio “Connect it Power” (4 or 6way). No protection,filters, lights, or switches included. It is not suitable for UK though.

Mike, Chris, I am glad you are finding the radio test useful… my culprits are some cheap electronic ballasts in some under cabinet fluorescents in the kitchen… I must get round to replacing with low voltage LED strip lighting… and unfortunately they do affect my Naim… I can hear when they are on in as far as the audio can go slightly dry… and if so… I wander over to the kitchen and switch the damn things off… and normality is restored…

The Asda 4 Watt non dim in a blister pack are nice and quiet. Are Russ Andrews blocks without mains filtering / conditioning still well regarded?

Where’s that tinfoil hat emoji when I need it??? LOL

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I have a fluorescent strip light in the kitchen too. I can’t be bothered to change it, as it’s usually turned off, but my experience with various modern LEDs is that they can be just as noisy, so choosing replacements seems to be a bit of a minefield.

Hi Steve
Thanks for the advice, most of the main and important connections are ethernet cabled. Wi Fi is pretty good around my house so have very little issues with it, and have since sorted the Wi Fi connection to the Muso QB in the kitchen.

Have nearly completed my purge of the surge protectors, and have totally removed all the PowerLine adapters, so will sit down and have a good listen to see if the effort has been beneficial.

Indeed - however my experience is that low voltage devices are better - as long as the transformer unit/SMPS is a quality one

By low voltage, do you mean 12V lighting? I have never bothered with this as I couldn’t be bothered with the extra transformer.